1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus that includes a metal holding member holding an internal structure, and a method of manufacturing the holding member.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic apparatus that includes an image-pickup apparatus such as a digital camera often has a display such as a liquid crystal panel which is used to display various kinds of information (in the case of the image-pickup apparatus, a display of determination of an image region, a display of confirmation of a shot image and a display of menus). A large display of the electronic apparatus is preferred in a market for the electronic apparatus for the reason that the display has various and important uses. In recent years, a size of the display becomes larger so as to meet the requirement of the market for the electronic apparatus.
The display such as the liquid crystal is constitutionally weak against an external pressure and an external impact. Therefore, holding the back side of the electronic apparatus on a broad uniform surface is the most effective to prevent the damage by the external force to the display in using or carrying the electronic apparatus.
On the other hand, miniaturization of the electronic apparatus is requested for the market. Especially, operation members such as a power button to turn on the digital camera, a zoom lever to adjust an angle of view for shooting, and a shutter button to give instructions for shooting are arranged on the upper surface of the digital camera in many cases. Miniaturization of the digital camera can be realized by storing the operation members in a projected area of the liquid crystal panel.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-49175 discloses a metal chassis holding the back side of a liquid unit on a large area an image-pickup lens unit, and a top plate holding a flexible wiring substrate corresponding to the upper surface operation member.
Additionally, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-203632 discloses a metal chassis which holds both the back side of a liquid unit on a large area, and a flexible wiring substrate corresponding to the upper surface operation member.
However, the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-49175 needs a component (the top plate) to hold the flexible wiring substrate corresponding to the upper surface operation member, and screws to fasten the top plate. As a result, a rise of component counts and assembly man-hours are caused.
On the other hand, in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-203632, a metal chassis holds both the liquid unit and the flexible wiring substrate corresponding to the upper surface operation member. Therefore, a few component counts and assembly man-hours are required. However, the metal chassis has a bending form in the projected area of the liquid unit so as to form the configuration holding the flexible wiring substrate corresponding to the upper surface operation member. The liquid unit has the potential to damage by the external force to the liquid unit because a region which has the bending form cannot hold the back side of the liquid unit.